Approval that matters

“When Ahithophel saw that Absalom and the leaders of Israel were not going to follow his advice, he saddled his donkey and rode back to his home in Gilo.  He told his family and servants what to do.  Then he hanged himself.”  2 Sam. 17:23 

Let’s go back to chapter 16 vs. 23:  “Ahithophel gave such good advice in those days that both Absalom and David thought it came straight from God.”

I know I started this off with a shocker of a verse this morning, but it’s reality.  Let’s face it, Ahithophel had fallen far.  

At one time his advice was revered by both King David, a man after God’s own heart, and his son, Absalom, who was now trying to be king.  They literally regarded his advice as though he was one who had been in a consultation with God.  And later, no one wanted to follow his advice.  

It didn’t just hurt his feelings a little or make him feel a bit disgraced.  It caused him to go commit suicide.  

It may sound shocking to you, but it shouldn’t.  When we get our sense of self-worth from people, this can easily happen.  If our identity is tied up in those around us, and they don’t approve of us, then, just like Ahithophel, we may feel like that is our only answer.  

When we are regarded by men as the best or regarded by men as not much, we need to keep our eyes on the Maker of heaven and earth.  He is the One who is our Strength.  He fights for us, gives us wisdom, lets us run to Him for refuge, and comforts us in times of need.  

Our identity comes from the One who created us, wonderfully, and willingly gave His Son to die for us so that we could have eternal life.  God made us in His image, and calls us His own.  He created us with a purpose.  We are loved so much that Jesus chose to die for us–we were worth dying for.  

No matter what happens or what they say…stand on what God says, and run to Him when you need a word of encouragement.  He is always faithful, and He can be trusted.  

Choose to stay, with Him,

jamie

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Feeling dismayed?

These all look to You to give them their food in due season.  When You give it to them, they gather it up; when You open Your hand, they are filled with good things.  When You hide Your face, they are dismayed…”  Ps. 104:27-29

Since Creation began there have been moments where the creation has felt like God has hidden His face from them.  All throughout the Pslams you can see the questions, posed, “Why do you hide Your face from me? Why are You so far from helping me?”

Before that, Job asked, “Why do you hide your face and consider me your enemy?” We even heard Jesus, from the cross, ask, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?”

Because we look to God for all things, it is in our moments of sorrow, pain, anxiousness, or uncertainty; it’s in the moments of silence that we sometimes feel as though He has hidden His face, and we are dismayed.

As we can see from the reaction of Jesus, and all throughout the Bible, it is a normal, human reaction.  We were created in God’s image, with emotions; and loneliness, uncertainty, grief, and pain are some of those emotions.

What can we do?  Keep looking for Him, seeking Him, and reminding ourselves of all He has done.  Job was looking for him in his darkest moments, when all he wanted to do was die, and he couldn’t find God to the right or the left–he kept seeking.

He spoke of all the works and wonders God had done in the past, and even as he wondered at first where God was, speaking of who God is built him up, and helped him keep close the One he needed all along.  Eventually he found his way back, not just to physical health, but to emotional and spiritual health, too.  This is how it works for us all.

I know there was a lot involved behind the scenes in Job’s story, but seeking God in the tough times the way Job did, praising, and reminding ourselves of God’s works and the things He has done in the past is the best way to find our way out.

We tend to pull away when we go through pain and crisis, and we feel like we can’t find God, but the truth is that the answer lies with Him alone.  He is the One.  He is the Salvation.  He is the Deliverance.  He is the Healing.  He is the Provision.  He is the Wisdom.  He is the Unity.  He is the Peace.  He is All in All, the Great I Am.

Every answer we need to fill the great gaping hole we feel inside is found in Him.  We just have to hold on and seek Him.   God said in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  This is still true today.

Grateful for a God who cares,

jamie

Who are you?

Pr. 31:30: “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.”

We have to be careful where we get our sense of identity.  Is it in the image we see in the mirror, the compliments of others, the likes we get on social media?  Perhaps we even get our identity from another person, like our spouse, sibling, boyfriend, or girlfriend?

As this scripture says, charm and beauty are passing, so we certainly can’t rely on our looks as our sense of identity.  I’m not sorry to say to you that it doesn’t matter how beautiful or handsome you are, if you aren’t that way on the inside then it’s truly all for naught.  Maybe no one has told you that lately.

Having all the followers possible on social media or only 10, or losing friends in the real world, should still not be the way we figure out who we are.

Our sense of identity runs deeper than that.  It is who we truly are.  Do you know who you are or do you let others opinions and actions determine that for you?

We cannot allow anyone but our Father and Creator tell us who we are.  He had a plan for us at the beginning, and as a potter shapes clay, He is molding and shaping us over time into the person we are to be.

Daily, we change and grow, but always we are in His righteous right hand, and since He is the author and finisher of our faith, He is the One we should look to for the answer to who we truly are.

We will find out who we are when we spend time with our Father, in His word, in prayer, and in worship.  If you’ve been believing lies about yourself or feeling “less than” or even “more than” about yourself lately, spend some time with the Lord and He will give You a true sense of your identity.  He will let you know who you are in Him, and guide you on the path He has for you.

He has plans for us if we are only willing to accept them and trust Him enough to give in.

What’s it to be?  Who will you trust today?

jamie

Here is a song to get you started in worship.  Go to the Word next…

 

What’s trending now

I love to study nutrition.  I love how God put foods on the earth to heal and protect us.  I love how different foods have different vitamins and minerals.  I like making new recipes with healthy foods.  It fascinates me.  I’ve noticed a trend in nutrition; however, that is very concerning to me and it reminds of the way that I heard satan say to Eve in the Garden of Eden, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree in the garden?'”

That subtle change in God’s Word was enough to get Eve to begin a conversation with satan so that he could tempt her to believe what he said instead of what she knew to be the truth of God’s Word.  This is the same thing I see him doing in the world of nutrition.

I just picked up 3 of my favorite nutrition books this morning to verify.  The first one had a picture of the chain of evolution from monkey to human to fat human.  The second and third talked about how far we’ve come since being cave men.

So, I consulted my book on the history of creation:  The Bible.  I see that God created man and woman in a garden.  He gave them trees with fruit that bore seeds, herbs, and plants.  After they sinned and had to leave the garden, their son Abel was a keeper of sheep.  Cain was a tiller of the ground.  (Shepherd and farmer)  These aren’t unintelligent cavemen with no food.  These are intelligent people with access to healthy foods, intentionally growing them.

I see Jubal coming in a while.  He was the father of all those who play the harp and flute.  Tubal-Cain was an instructor of every craftsman in bronze and iron.  Oh!  And did I mention that before these two were born, Cain built a city and named it after his son?  He wasn’t living in a cave, unable to form words or think properly.

Even after the great flood, Noah became a farmer.  He planted a vineyard, too.  It just goes on and on from there.  As Christians, we have to guard ourselves.  Yes, be wise enough to eat whole foods and take care of your body.  I believe 100% that God put foods on this earth to nourish our bodies and give us the things we need.  But we must beware of what subtleties we allow into our minds.  Know the truth of God’s Word.  Know your Creator and how all things began.  Make sure your house is built on the Rock and you will be safe when the winds of untruth come blowing by.

We must remain in the Word and pray as it says in Ps. 25:5, “Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.”

Dig in!

jamie

Scripture references for the things I mentioned today, in order:  Gen. 3: 1-24, Gen. 2:7-25, Gen. 4:2, Gen. 4:20-21, Gen. 4:22, Gen. 4:17, Gen. 9:20

Lessons from creation

Mt. 18:14:  “Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

The song of a Carolina Wren caught my attention this morning.  I found it was perched on my fence, singing.  I noticed a rustling in the garden below and realized that it’s mate was down there eating.  I watched as they took turns perching and eating.  It was nice to see the unity between the birds.

After that, I read the parable of the lost sheep, and I couldn’t help but see the way God shows us His feelings throughout His creation.  Mt. 18:12 says that if one sheep is lost it will be sought.  Every single one of us is important to God.

When we think of the way we feel about our own family, we can understand why this is important to God.  If one of our own family becomes separated from us, we would give anything to bring them back to us.  The birds I was watching this morning were in sync, so beautifully paired, that I know they’re union has meaning to them.

God put examples of His own feelings within His creation.  We can better understand that God truly doesn’t want to lose a single one of us.  He wants us all with Him.  We are important to Him and it grieves Him to lose us, just as it grieves us to lose someone.

If we know someone’s family member is missing, we do everything in our power to help them find that person.  God asked us to do the same with His children.  When one strays away, or one hasn’t found the way to Him, He asks us to show them the way.  He asks us to introduce them to the One who is the Way, Jesus Christ.

We can take a lesson from God’s creation and lovingly seek out God’s lost children and bring them to Him.

Lord, help us show them the Way.  Help us to get over the fear of  speaking to others about You.  Help us to remember that the love we have for our own family is just a glimmer of the love You have for Your own children.  Help us to be willing to seek and find those who are lost.  We know this is Your will.  Thank You for loving each one of us this much, Lord.  You are a good Father.

Found,

jamie

How Great He Is!

“When He prepared the heavens, I was [wisdom] was there, when He drew a circle on the face of the deep, when He established the clouds above, when He strengthened the fountains of the deep, when He assigned to the sea its limit, so that the waters would not transgress His command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I was beside Him as a master craftsman; and I was daily His delight, rejoice always before Him, rejoicing in His inhabited world, and my delight was with the sons of men.”  Pr. 8:27-31

O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the works Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

When through the woods, and forest glades I wander,
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees.
When I look down, from lofty mountain grandeur
And see the brook, and feel the gentle breeze.

And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation,
And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart.
Then I shall bow, in humble adoration,
And then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou art!”

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

How Great Thou Art, by:  Carl Boberg

Awestruck,

jamie

Consider who is instructing you

Pr. 22:19:  “So that your trust your trust may be in the Lord, I have instructed you today, even you.”

Years ago I was hooked on a show about clothes and makeovers.  It was pretty inspiring, and funny, to boot.  I eventually noticed that I was overly worried about the clothes, or lack of clothes, in my closet and I quit watching the show.  I am now content again with the blessings God has given me.

Any subject in which you invest your time instructs you, and draws your focus.  When I watch cooking shows a lot, I think about food and cooking a lot of the time.  When I research health and wellness, my thoughts tend to revolve around those things.  When I listen to music, my thoughts begin to be influenced by the words and ideas that I hear.  I must be careful what I allow to instruct me.

Have you considered the purpose of those things you are allowing to instruct you?  Whatever I immerse myself in becomes something on which I focus and I notice my thoughts returning to them over and over.  I find the same to be true of the Word.  When I immerse myself in the Word of God, my thoughts remain focused on the Lord, on His promises, on His commands, on His wisdom, and on His faithfulness.  The Word runs through my mind throughout the day and I see applications of the Word in my daily life.

In whom or in what do you want to place your trust?  This verse tells us that the instructions are given so that our trust may be in the Lord.  If you want your trust to be fully in the Lord, then you must continually be instructed by Him.

When I was watching the show about clothes so often, I began to lose confidence.  Why is that?  I dare say I was being instructed to trust in clothing, money, and outward appearances.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with dressing nicely or buying nice things, but I noticed within myself the feelings of discontent that indicated to me that I was beginning to trust in something that can just be thrown away.

God’s faithfulness endures forever.  He is the same God yesterday, today, and forevermore.  If we are going to receive instruction, I think it wise that it be the instruction of the pure, proven, and living Word of God.  Certainly, there is nothing wrong with learning new things, but when our lives become about things other than God, we are trusting in dust and ash.  God’s faithfulness proves that trusting in Him is not only beneficial, it is eternal.

If you truly want your trust to be in the Lord, the God Most High, the Creator and Sustainer of this universe, then you must be instructed by Him.  He is wisdom.  He is peace.  He is the Comforter.  He is the Lord of all.  Open up your heart and mind to His instruction, and reject any instruction that causes you to trust in lesser things.

Taking notes,

jamie

I know there’s an answer

Pr. 3:19:  “The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding He established the heavens”

I have had tendonitis in my toe since June, and it has not gotten any better.  I will note that I did go to the podiatrist at the onset, but have not yet been back.  Yesterday I was looking online a bit for some options that didn’t include a repeat visit to the doctor.  (just in case)

When you begin looking something up online, its amazing to me how you can end your search overwhelmed with a plethora of information.  There is just so much information out there and it quickly begins to conflict.  Oh, and there are so many perfect things you can buy to completely remedy your situation.

So many options, so many conflicting opinions, and so many different feelings those opinions invoke.  By the time I finished my search I felt bleak.  All I could do was sigh.

Then, realizing I was in over my head, I called out to the One who founded the earth with wisdom and established the heavens with understanding.  I was so thankful to know the One who has and is the answer.  It is important that we have a relationship with the Creator, the One who has all wisdom and understanding, so that we can consult Him for the answers we need.

The beauty of His word is that it does not conflict.  His word is consistent and His word is pure.  I can trust that when I call upon the Lord, or open His word, the information I find there will not overwhelm me in a hopeless and helpless way.  It will not leave me feeling bleak and bested.  In fact, the Lord is our peace.  The Lord and His Word are a shield to those who trust in Him and He is a helper in time of need.

If it’s wisdom I seek, then I know the One who gives it generously to those who ask.  I hope you know Him today, as well.

Peace be with you,

jamie

Forsake foolishness

Pr. 9:6:  “Forsake foolishness and live, and go in the way of understanding.”

The Word also tells us in Pr. 14:1 that, “the fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”  Creation screams out the existence of God.  Science points us to the Creator, as well.  The Holy Spirit tugs at our hearts to remind us that there is One God who holds this world in His hands and who wants communion with us.  Satan loves to deceive and get our eyes off the Lord, even to the point that we would deny His existence.

Romans 1:18-32 talks about how people suppress the truth and become futile in their thoughts, allowing their foolish hearts to be hardened.  It says that people exchange the truth of God for a lie, and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator.  “Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like a corruptible man.”  (vs.22-23)

Doesn’t this sound just like our world?  So many people profess their “wise” opinions that point away from the Lord, the Creator of all things, and are exchanging the truth of God for a lie.  We don’t naturally want to be outsiders, so occasionally we go with the flow of the thoughts, opinions, or lifestyles around us.

The word of God tells us that understanding is knowledge of the Holy One, but Ro. 1:28 says, “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting…”  If we deny the Lord or His power and insist on continuing in that way, God will allow us to have what we want and we become fools who are headed toward destruction.

David said, in Psalm 16:8, “I have set the Lord always before me.”  This sounds like what we all should do.  If we want true understanding, we must know more about the Lord.  Fear of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, points us away from the things not fitting, as described in Romans 1:29-32; and points us straight to the Creator and to eternal life.

“Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.”  1Tim. 4:1-3.

Sounds like these latter times are upon us.  Don’t be swept up by futile thoughts, lies, and deceiving spirits.  Stand firm on the solid foundation that is Jesus Christ.  Go in the way of understanding.  Know the Lord and His word and have life!

Cramming,

jamie